The carrot flavor shines in these unforgettably moist carrot cake cupcakes – but the coconut, pineapple, currants, and a surprising cardamom finish makes this classic American dessert taste just a bit exotic. These carrot cake cupcakes are the best carrot cake cupcakes (or carrot cake) that I’ve ever had and I hope you’ll feel the same way.

The Back Story

Two readers (Stephanie and Erin) recently asked me if I had a good carrot cake cupcake recipe. I didn’t! I made carrot cupcakes with orange a long time ago (3 years!) and while I liked them, the orange was far more dominant than the carrot. I set out to find a killer carrot cake cupcake.

To find the best carrot cake cupcake out there, I first turned to my Twitter friends – and they came through! The carrot cake cupcake recipe that most appealed to me was from Laureen at Eat and Be Happy (if you read her description of it, you’ll want it immediately, too!). I based my carrot cake cupcakes on hers, but (of course) I made some changes; I used coconut oil to kick up the coconut flavor, currants instead of raisins, and added cardamom to both the cake and the frosting. Here’s my adaptation of her recipe:

Alternate Recipe

UPDATE: My bloggy friend, Little Ivy, left me a comment saying that she had made carrot cupcakes with candied carrot curls on top. I went to leave her a comment (something to the effect of how I couldn’t believe I had missed that post) and I saw that I had already left a comment in 2007! So, it looks like my subconscious might have stolen her idea and not given her due credit. Go check out her carrot cupcake post and all of her other wonderful creations.

Can I ask a silly question – I’ve just found you through google and want to make these for miss 4’s first day at Kindergarten. What does the T stand for? Teaspoon or Tablespoon!?! (I’m in Australia so maybe you only use one of these measurements lol but its enough to have me scratching my head!)

I made these yesterday, and they are a huge hit! I had to make the carrot toppers three times before I got it right: the best baking time for the first baking was only 7 minutes. I Saved this recipe to ZipList, but I’ve tried many of your recipes, and they are always eagerly devoured by friends and family. You are so creative. Thank you for sharing!

Made these tonight for my husbands birthday, I left out the cardamom because I didn’t have any and a jar at the grocery store was $12 bucks. The way it is mixed together is unusual, but man were these good! This will be my go to carrot cake cupcake recipe! Easy and really, really good.

I made these last night to bring to work today (cause I’m nice like that) and people are RAVING! I cut down on the cardamom, which I personally love, just in case people weren’t fans, and cut some of the sugar in the frosting. Did I mention people are raving? The only other thing I did differently was I mixed all of the dry ingredients together first (other than the sugar), and then added them at the end when the recipe indicated to add the flour. I’m wondering how the recipe differs by adding the other dry ingredients (baking soda, etc.) at the beginning? Thanks for your tips and a wonderful recipe that I will be using again and again!

You can find a ginormous jar of coconut oil @ Costco and online at vitacost (dot com). I use the nutivia brand and perfer extra virgin the most due to the flavor and essence of the odor! It’s delish! I use it on my body, in my hair, and for cooking! You can fry the BEST tilapia that’s crusted in milk, butter, and herbed cornmeal in coconut oil! I’ll give these cupcakes a try but not sure if I’ll find the currants :(

I am a pretty experienced baker & have made these many times & they are best carrot cake cupakes I’ve ever made or eaten. Seriously. I cannot tell you how many family & friends request these for every occasion. Thank you! Amazing!